BIOTech Futures’ first regional event kicked off with a bang at the BIOTech Futures Challenge Victoria 2020. The Challenge saw six participating teams of Year 10 students from the University of Melbourne’s Girl Power program undertake research projects with academics from the ARC Training Centre for Medical Implant Technologies. Teams presented their findings at a virtual symposium on the morning of 5th of December, which, due to the COVID-19 situation, was held online. That didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits though, and all teams produced extremely high level reports, posters, and presentations which thoroughly impressed the judges!
Our winning team was Biodegradable Tennis Balls (Anna Franklin, Michaela Mulenga, and Caitlyn Smith, mentored by Shareen Chan), who displayed exceptional innovation and presentation skills. They will be represent Victoria at the BIOTech Futures Challenge 2021 to be held on 8-9th February 2021. The prize for best report went to Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty (Nuzhatul Mannan, Paris McFarland, and Jessie Thomas, mentored by Yichen Huang) for a thorough and detailed analysis of their solution.
Read more about Challenge Victoria 2020 at the event page here.